please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Visited after some while away, due to The Royal Oak's more sporadic hours as they focus more on their golf club venture. Excellent experience - very tasty cask beer in the form of Downlands Hop Contract, which helped wash down a lovely ploughman's - splendid local ham, Stilton, and just enough salad. Perfect for a summery Saturday stop-off.
Very efficient and friendly service, along with pleasant locals and a welcoming, warm interior. I've been dropping in here on-and-off for almost 20 years now, and I'd say The Lamb is as good as it's ever been. Keep the hard work up folks, and despite your remote location, you should continue to prosper.
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Stopped for Sunday lunch and am so glad we decided on the Lamb Inn over its near neigbours. Car park was busy but we found a space no problem. We entered the main bar area - great traditional country pub interior and although busy were guided to a great table. Now the best bit - the beer is truly excellent and due to there link with Hepworth Brewery of Horsham, they have the full range including for me the Blond organic english lager - see big breweries, proper lager CAN be produced in the UK! The roast dinner was prefect and everyone seemed to be having a lovely time. So great pub, great beer, super food and finally, every member of staff we encountered was friendly and very helpful. I have never given a pub 10 and if i could mark this place as 9.8 I would.
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A crowd of us stopped in for Sunday lunch as thorough enjoyed it. The beef was properly cooked, nice and pink, and the IPA and Hophead I tried both well kept and and a delight.
Will head to this place again when in Sussex.
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Visited the Lamb on a warm summer's afternoon. What a great country Free House...hurrah!
The food we had there was excellent. The beers were 'top notch' too. It's so good to know the Lamb is still the only decent pub for miles & miles!!
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Have eaten here once with a party, and was rather disappointed. Would always use The Gate as a better option.
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I like thus pub. Good ale. However, last time I went a few months back, the entire "restaurant" was booked, but empty. No where else to sit, with the locals crammed in around the bar - but was told couldn't sit at one of the empty reserved tables. Had a pint and a half, sat outside in the cold, and 45 minutes later, still the tables were deserted - staff looked at me blankly when I pointed this out. Left.
its a shame; I know I'm just one person so they'll hardly go bankrupt. But I'll not make the effort to return.
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On my recent visit with friends I was told by the barmaid that she'd be with me in two minutes then went on to finish conversations with friends before serving us, they also don't ring a bell and call last orders (something to do with fire regulations they said?!!) so keep your eye on the clock! One saving grace is that the beer is still as good as ever.
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Can't fault this pub. Great ales and fantastic menu. The food is all sourced in Sussex or Surrey. I love the Royal Oak for the ale
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Hadn't popped up at the Lamb for some 4-5 years - for no other reason that it's a bit of a schlep from where I live - until last Thursday. Considering that this visit was preceded by a lengthy wallow in the ale troughs of the Royal Oak at nearby Rusper, it had a hard act to follow. Not a fair comparison perhaps, although in any case, happily I was not disappointed with what's on offer here.
I discovered that in essence the pub's character and quality has been retained since WJ King relieved themselves of their one and only tied house and concentrated solely on the brewing, which is always what they did best. Indeed, arguably things have improved generally since then. There is a broader selection of cask beer available (4 pumps, 3 in use on my visit serving 2 Dark Star and 1 King) and from my recollection, possibly better-kept. A charming, chatty and essentially barmaidly lady pumped me up a pint of the Old Dad and it was splendid, as was the half of Hophead sampled thereafter. Incidentally, a couple I got chatting to who were in for food hadn't visited for even longer - about 14 years - and they seemed to be quite pleased with the way things had gone.
The decor is traditional but airy; somehow the Lamb manages to be equally appropriate a backdrop in Winter or Summer weather. The rather pretty building has not been unduly tampered-with, and is commodious enough to accommodate a large number of seated diners/quaffers. I had heard that the food side has been on the up lately - it was always slightly hit and miss in the King era - but any judgement on that aspect from me will have to wait until I arrive hungry. Still, there were people already arriving for meals, which surely is a good sign.
Punters seemed a friendly enough bunch and I stood at the bar shoulder-to-shoulder with them without sensing any disparaging looks-askance for not being a regular, despite sticking out like a sore thumb in suit and tie having come from work!
Events seem to be quite common - there's always been a predilection for live music here, even pre-King - and that night some sort of tango or salsa dancing was taking place. Not my cup of cha but still nice to see a pub making an effort to diversify and appeal to a wider community, especially when located in such a remote area.
All in all then, a sound rural local which has broad appeal and scores well in a variety of key indicators. I must get back sooner than another 4-5 years. Well done folks.
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I had supper in here last Saturday with a few friends.
I thought the staff were very friendly and attentive and the beers were very well-kept. I particularly liked the Dorking DB No 1 and was also pleased that all the beers on the bar came from the surrounding areas of Sussex or Surrey.
The food probably won't win any serious awards but it was serviceable enough. I enjoyed my vegetable curry. The cheese board was mostly local but on the expensive side for the size of the portion.
On balance a good little pub, trying hard to give excellent service.
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I am a regular and just love this pub. The ale is so well cared, they will always give you a taste if you are not sure of which one to have!! The atmosphere is fab an the food is fab.
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Just so love this pub, it is the place we go to for every occasion we celebrate and just for a drink or meal for the two of us. They have a good selection of guest ales which are well kept along with the house beers, the food is fantastic and mainly locally sourced in West Sussex. We had a fantastic 2 course meal which cost �41 (food only) for 3 people last night. Our American friend was so impressed that we took her such a fantastic country pub. Just love Ben and his staff but hat's off to Chris the chef who cooked my salmon perfectly. So worth a try and you won't be disappointed.
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Very nice pub with well-kept Biddenden real cider. I did not try the food.
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We have been going to The Lamb Inn for nearly one year. We have never had a poor meal, everytime the food has been fantastic. The beer is usually good but one time we had a problem and it was changed without problems. I have advised my Danish friends to go thre when they visit england
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Had lunch here the other week with a group of friends. My meal was unfortunately average, and three of my friends are vegetarians, and there were only two hot main courses available for them which they didn't fancy as it was a curry and an omelette, so they had the good old cheddar ploughmans! Therefore this was abit of a shame. Yet the service was good and the prices are reasonable. However, will try again another time!
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Started using the Lamb last year and have always had great food & service. Everybody I have recommended it too feels the same way too. Good range of beers which are well kept. The customer service is brilliant and nothing is too much trouble. I am disappointed to read the comments about the opening times. This is an out of the way country pub with little passing trade. The Plough in Rusper however has a lot of passing trade so it would make sense for them to open all day.
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First visit to the Lamb this week and was highly recommended by friends. What a great pub with a really warm welcome. Food and service excellent. The pub prides itself on using local produce and it really shows. Good range of well kept beers served perfectly. So worth a visit.
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Absolute gem of a pub found by accident on Sunday 19/08/07. Bar and food service the best I have come across in many years. The food was so brilliant I just can not stop talking about it. The ales are well kept and they serve Stowford Press cider (a gem) along with a local brewed scrumpy. Local produce used where ever possible. The local smoked salmon is to die for. The Devon crab salad was divine and the roast topside was cooked to perfection. Can not fault the pub in the flesh but just wish they would invest in getting their website working. Highly recommended and really not expensive.
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An excellent pub in all respects. First class service complements the superb food (sourced from local produce) and fine range of W J King beers plus a real cider from Biddenden farm. Comfort, atmosphere and conviviality are all in evidence here.
My only other comment, like the previous correspondent, is that the hours could be a bit more flexible on Saturday and Sunday - especially in the summer months to cater for weary and often thirsty walkers and bike riders.
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Great pub with good food & real ale but closing time of 3.00 pm on a Saturday major drawback to spending a relaxed time there after lunch - had to repair to the nearby Plough in Rusper (which does stay open Saturday afternoons!) which was a lovely surprise and to which we will return for a more leisurely weekend lunch.
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Great pub, Bill King's fantastic creations and good food.
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Ours was a very pleasant visit. The high standard of the beer here is what we always hope for. The food is on the costly side but comes in ample well prepared portions. The menu is extensive. The exceptional thing about this pub is the high standard of service: the staff are friendly, willing, and knowledgeable. Apparently the brewery (WJ King) took over the place a couple of years ago, maybe the standard of the people is due to them, whatever, the training has been good and morale seems to be very high. The customers reap the benefit and it shows in their attitude to each other. altogather a most happy pub.
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Lovely pub - certainly worth the journey from Horsham if you (like me) were struggling to find a decent pint of ale there. All the beers are from WJ King and are kept in perfect condition. When I visited, they had Horsham Best, Old Ale, Amarillo (Single Hop) and one other which I can't remember.
Didn't have a meal when I was there, but I wish I had - food looked great. Stuck with a portion of chips and they arrived within about 30 seconds of us finding a seat - fantastic!
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Real Ale from local Horsham Brewer WJ King and great homemade food from top chef Ben Bokor-Ingram
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Typical old English pub in a out of the way corner, well worth seeking out, especially for the Bill King beers. The food is pretty good as well. Would be a 9 pointer but for closing in the afternoons.
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